Instinct
by KincaidBabe
Summary: Steph and the guys of Rangeman learn to trust their instincts, rebuild their relationships and fight for what they want. WARNING: Character Deaths, Violence, Mature Adult Situations
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I make no money from this. All characters that are recognized belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm just playing with them. Please be aware, there will be violence and mature adult situations in this story.**

_Tank POV_

I was sitting in another boring staff meeting, listening to Ram talk about intake of new employees at the Miami office. I could see Lester's eyes glazing over, Cal had started doodling, and Bobby was making lists in his head. Hector was just staring at the walls with a smirk on his face. And at the head of the table, Ranger was sitting stone-faced, taking in everything.

Everyone had been on edge slightly for the last six months. I knew why, everyone knew why. But no one would mention it and the edge was kicking up.

Ranger's phone rang. He looked at it and sent it to voicemail. It didn't buzz again, so whoever it was didn't leave a message. Ram continued with his report for four more minutes. And then my phone buzzed.

Surprise ran across my face before I could slam down on my emotions, and Ranger started glaring at me, daring me to answer the call. That told me that the caller he sent to voicemail was now trying to reach me. Why he sent this call to voicemail, I couldn't understand.

I stood and strode out of the room, making it to my office just before the call rolled over to voicemail. I slid the icon and took a deep breath before answering.

"Little Girl." It came out breathlessly. I couldn't believe that after six months of silence she was finally reaching out.

"Tank." Her voice was hesitant, but started picking up with determination. "If I could get you to pull up the trackers on the watch Ranger gave me and pull the audio to your phone, I would be really grateful. I have a really bad feeling and I know I'm not supposed to call, but something is going to happen and I need someone to call the police for me if things go really wrong. Please."

"You're not supposed to call?" What the hell was she talking about? She went radio silent and installed a new floor bolt six months ago. We could never get close enough to get any answers as to why and now I have a feeling I know. Someone told her to back off. My money would be on the cop, but the way Ranger ignored her call told me that may not be true.

She hadn't gotten into any trouble since she disappeared from our lives. No car explosions. No kidnappings. At least that we know about. We know she started training with someone, but could never get a name. She was finally taking her safety seriously, and it seemed that the only way she would was having Ranger pulled out of her life. I had called Lula in desperation about a month after she shut herself off and Lula told me that the Rangemen should be ashamed of themselves, hung up on me and won't return any of my calls.

"I'm sorry to put you in a bad position with Ranger, but if you would just listen and call the cops, I don't think he'll come down on you. I know your desk is piled with reports, so maybe I could be background noise?"

She was starting to sound a little desperate, so I knew I had to dig for details before she walked into whatever was giving her a bad feeling. Steph has great instincts that I've never questioned.

"I'll do that if you'll tell me where you are and what's going on. I know you've had training." I hoped she would be willing to bargain a little here so I could prep a contingency plan.

"I don't want to end up on charges, so I can't use what little I do know." She took a deep breath and I knew I was about to get an outline of the situation. "Joe's been drinking. A lot. I've been pulling back and I'm ending it today. I don't think it will get violent but he's gotten controlling and I've got this bad feeling just sitting outside his house."

That was something we weren't aware of. If Morelli was drinking, he was unpredictable. I didn't want her in there alone.

"Wait for me and I'll be over to watch your back. Or just come over here and talk to me. We haven't seen you in months." I was going to try to minimize the damage any way I could; and the longer she talked, the bigger the ball forming in the pit of my stomach became.

"I can't do that, Tank. I can't abuse your time, money or energy. I wouldn't even be disturbing you now if I didn't feel like I was going to die."

My blood ran cold. She couldn't die. She was my friend and I wanted to protect her. Truth was, I loved her. And who the hell had fed her those lines?

"Just wait for me. I want to help you. And I'm due a break from work. Just stay on the phone with me and stay in your car, I'm leaving now. We can deal with Morelli together." I was pleading, something I didn't do, but damn it, I loved her and I think I was having a heart attack at the thought of her dying.

"I can't let you get dragged into this. If Rangeman gets implicated in another scandal involving me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." The second sentence sounded forced, like she had memorized it and chanted it to keep from calling us. Whatever had sent her running from us six months ago was bad. But it was a mystery I would solve after I got to her.

I was already halfway down the stairs and didn't remember moving. Lester and Hector were behind me, both swearing quietly in Spanish about Morelli.

"Little Girl, please wait for me to get there. I'm less than ten minutes away." I started praying that should listen.

"Don't come. I'm turning on the audio on the watch now. Just call the cops if anything goes wrong. Please, stay away. I love you, Tank. You're a great friend." And she hung up on me.

I started running full out and slammed into the nearest Explorer, Lester and Hector still on my tail. I peeled out of the garage and began praying in earnest that she would be okay. I've never doubted her instincts, and if she felt her death coming, I was going to stand in the way.


	2. Chapter 2

_Ranger POV_

She had called me. In the middle of a damn staff meeting, after six months of no contact, she had finally called me. And jackass that I am, I sent the call to voicemail.

I had left dozens of messages, and she never called me back. I had tried to break into her apartment and she had installed a new floor bolt and electronic monitoring. I saw her on the street and she literally ran from me, my emails were never responded to, and my letters all returned unopened. I had no idea what I did, but she'd avoided me, my men and my building like the plague.

I was so surprised when Tank's phone rang that I almost jumped in my chair. It had taken her four minutes, but she had called him. I knew if she was in serious trouble, she would.

My heart started to race and adrenaline forced its way into my system. She was in trouble and I hadn't bothered to answer the damn phone. Tank practically ran from the room to his office. That ended the pointless staff meeting and I dismissed the men.

I stormed over to my office. I knew I was storming, and I didn't really care. I was a stupid jackass. The woman I loved had called and I didn't answer the damn phone because it hurt that she went to such great lengths to avoid me and I wanted to hurt her back. Damnit, I was acting like I was back in high school.

I could hear Tank practically yelling into the phone so I knew I couldn't call her back right away. I needed to cool off, get this adrenaline out of my system, and center myself once more. I started to pace, so that I could think; at least, that's what I told myself.

I knew the guys blamed me for her avoidance act. I honestly had no idea what was going on with her. One day she and I were having dinner on seven; the next day I couldn't get her to look at me; the day after that, all her Rangeman paraphernalia shows up at the front desk. Her key fob, her uniforms, her Glock, even my SEALS hat, just sitting in a box on the front desk waiting for me. The woman we had hired to sit down there and direct visitors called and said Steph had just dropped it off with the parting words, "Here's everything."

I had initially assumed Morelli had made demands and she had caved. But I'd watched and she was still a bounty hunter, she was thinner and more toned, she was having fewer problems with her skips. And she'd been dating another man, aside from the Italian Asshole, when the box appeared. We couldn't figure out who he was, but we knew she was seeing someone else because she had slipped up in conversation with Lester and mentioned him. For the last three months, she's only been seen with Morelli, but I didn't think he was behind her with-drawl.

I was proud as hell of her. She was getting training. I couldn't figure out who was training her, but they were doing a damn good job. She'd been working hard and hadn't had any problems with stalkers, contracts, cars or skips that we knew about.

While we were all at a loss as to what caused her to literally run from all of us in public, I was still fending off advances by Jean Ellen, Kari, the girl at the front desk, and most women I met. I didn't want any other woman, just my Babe. And if I couldn't have her, I didn't want anyone else. I would accept no substitutions.

I knew several of the men in this office felt the same way about her that I did. I wouldn't stop them from pursuing her. They just had to understand that I was never going to stop loving her, no matter what happened. Lester, Tank and I had gotten drunk enough one night to discuss it, and I knew they wanted her the same way I did. We had proposed going to her and offering a shared arrangement, but in the light of day, I had talked them down. I'm a selfish bastard and I was finally in a place to offer her more. I had tried to open that door slowly with her about a month before she ran, and had never had a chance to build it into anything.

Maybe the guys were right, maybe she needed more than one of us could give, broken as we are. She'd never been a traditional girl. Maybe we could all be happy. I knew Morelli wouldn't last much longer, he would start making demands soon and she would turn away, just as always. Maybe she would see this time that he didn't want all of her, just parts, and that wouldn't be enough to go back. Maybe we could take the next chance we had and show her that we loved her, all of her. Maybe, maybe, maybe. I hated this and I loved her so damn much.

I heard Tank bolt from his office and stepped out in time to see Lester and Hector flank him into the stairwell. They were three of my best men, my best friends, and they would take care of her until I got onto the scene. I was moving to follow them when I heard her voice coming from the control room. I stood frozen for a few seconds before I realized it was the watch I had given her with tracking and audio installed.

Even after I realized where her voice was coming from, I stood frozen and listened to the conversation. I had a ball of lead weighing me down when I listened to the tone of her voice and the slightly slurred speech of the person she was talking to. All activity on the floor had come to an abrupt halt.

"_I need to talk to you, Joe. Are you sober enough for a serious conversation?"_

He was drinking enough that she had to ask that? How did we not know this?

"_Get in here, Cupcake. It's time we got a few things straight."_

"_Please let go of my arm. I'm coming in."_

Shit, if he was hurting her, I was going to kill him, cop or no cop. She moved and the sound of the door shutting and bolting sent a small tendril of fear through me.

"_Go get me another beer and get into the living room." _It was a command, not a request.

She moved through the house and the fridge door opened, closed, bottles clinked, and a deadbolt turned. Good girl, leaving herself an exit. She moved back and sat down somewhere in the living room after he made a grunting noise and the bottles clinked again.

"_Joe, please listen to me."_

"_No, Cupcake, you listen. I'm done with you running around making a fool of me. You've been such a good girl since you stopped seeing Manoso, but it's time to give up the job and get this all settled."_

"_Settled. Yes, it's time we settled a few things. I'm not interested in having children, getting married or moving into the Burg. You and I have a lot of history and I'd like to be your friend, but I can't be in this relationship anymore."_

Her voice was calm, but I could hear the fear. The fear was justified. There was a loud thud and she cried out. I almost bolted out the door when his next words stopped me in my tracks.

"_No one wants you, whore. You'll do what you were raised to do, have my babies, keep my home, service my dick, and you're not leaving this house until I've gotten that through your brainless skull. Ranger's not going to rescue you this time. He can't. I've made sure he'll be busy tonight. His band of thugs is going to get arrested right along with him. His Jersey Penal Stop-Over Station is going to get shut down."_

He was laughing and I knew what that meant. There were Feds headed this way with a warrant. Too bad I already knew that and cleaned the entire building weeks ago. I looked at the men. I nodded and Cal nodded back. We were clear.

"_Joe, I'm leaving town."_

Every man in the room stiffened. She couldn't leave. We may not have seen much of her lately, but she couldn't disappear from our lives completely. We had tried to shadow her for a while, just to be sure she was alright, but after the first month, she slipped past every man, including myself, and we admitted defeat. She also found every tracking device and mailed them back to the office. Some, she mailed to Miami, Boston or Atlanta, just to change things up.

"_You're not going anywhere, Cupcake."_

There was still laughter and now a smug sense of self assuredness in his voice. I hated him just a little more every second I listened to this and rage was building inside of me.

"_I'm leaving and you're going to let me. Or I'm going to allow certain documents, videos, audio recordings and pictures to be released to certain individuals."_

Her voice had gone colder than I'd ever heard it. There was another, louder thud and then Morelli started laughing. It was a sick sound that turned my stomach and spiked the fear already swimming through me. We heard him moving around, more thudding, her groaning in pain, and then he began to talk.

"_You're not going anywhere, Cupcake. I'm never letting you leave here and I'll take away all your toys so you won't get rescued. Then I'll find what you've done with what you have and destroy it. You'll be mine forever."_

The sick laughter sounded again, sending us all almost over the edge.

"_While I have you just as I like you, I'll get started on teaching you how to please me."_

When I heard the zipper, I bolted for the stairs, followed by Cal and Bobby. I couldn't really hear anything above the noise of my heartbeat and harsh breathing in my ears.

We burst out of the stairwell in the garage and raced the nearest Explorer past the gates and through the city streets. I didn't care that he was drunk. I had learned that the actions and thoughts that come out while under the influence of anything aren't because of the intoxicant, but because the intoxicant has cleared the path for the actions and thoughts that have always been under the surface. It's a matter of inhibition being removed.

I was going to kill him. My instincts were screaming that if I didn't end this permanently, he would always be a threat. And I couldn't let a threat to my Babe continue to walk around, no matter how strong she was now. I was going to protect her and I was never going to let her run again. Consequences be damned.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and encouragement. I just wanted to address one thing quickly, then you'll get a new chapter. There will be an HEA at the end, although how and with whom is still up for debate. I will say that all the main characters will have some serious growing pains, either during the six months before the story that will alter their character, or as a result of the altered environment around them. I'm pulling from a variety of inspirations for this and I will say again, there will be violence and mature situations. **

**WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH**

_Lester POV_

I hate these damn meetings Ranger insists on having. I try to block out Ram's voice, and I know I'm not the only one.

I've shifted to the one thing I can't get out of my mind. Stephanie. My little kitten. That's what Hector and I had taken to calling her before her forced exile from our presence.

She wouldn't say much to me when I cornered her a week after she dropped off all her Rangeman possessions. She told me she loved me, and then she stunned me. I felt like Hal for a minute, and it really sucked. The little minx got the jump on me because I was so relieved to see her face, and I was proud of her for using it to her advantage. Twisted, but I'm proud of how far she's come.

Since then, she's literally run from any Rangeman in public and we've seen a variety of tasers, stun guns, other non-lethal weapons, knives and semi-automatics on her person. She's taking her job and her safety seriously and we're all proud of that. We just don't want it used against us. We can't get her alone, thus we haven't figured out why she pulled away.

I knew it wasn't Morelli. She had told me that she was seeing someone and it was all new and she wasn't ready to talk about it. She also told me she had found someone to train her that she trusted. I hadn't told anyone that, but it's obvious in every action she's taken in the last six months. There's serious physical and mental training in every move she's made.

I asked why she didn't come to us. It's not that she didn't trust us, she had said, just that she felt like she couldn't take advantage of us that way. That was a classic Steph move and was a week before her silence began.

Connie wouldn't tell me much, but she did say Steph had slowly with-drawn from everyone but Lula. And she kept Lula on the fringes, 'just like Ranger did to her in the beginning'. She deals directly with Vinnie now. She takes skips from Les Sebring and Thomas Brown too. According to Connie, she's making a lot of money. We knew Jean Ellen was pissed, we just didn't think Steph was the reason; we thought it was because Ranger wouldn't give her the time of day.

It was almost silent around here lately. Unless there was work to be talked about, we didn't socialize anymore. We didn't hit the clubs. We just put our heads down and wallowed in the lack of her presence. And we drank in the privacy of our apartments. I know this because of the sheer amount of Tylenol Bobby has been ordering. I didn't know they sold it by the case.

Ranger's phone was ringing. He never interrupts meetings with phone calls anymore. Not when Steph isn't going to call and make our day with her smile or give us heart attacks from a bad situation. And I guess they're not leaving a message either, judging by the lack of buzz.

Ram kept droning on and then Tank got a buzz; must be important too, since he practically ran out of the room and tried to make it look like he didn't. Oh good, Ranger's done for now.

Hector and I nodded to each other. I knew we would be meeting later to take the edge off. We'd been doing that for a couple of years and it worked for both of us because it was simple and we cared about each other. And we were both in love with someone we couldn't have.

Hector and I were walking past Tank's office and I just stopped. I couldn't explain it if I tried, but I felt like I had to stay there. Something important was happening. Hector just looked at me for a minute before taking up a guard position on the other side of the closed door.

I was really trying to wait patiently for Tank, something anyone who spends any time with me will tell say is virtually impossible, so I was fidgeting. I was immediately set on edge by Hector's whisper.

"_Gatita._"

Fuck. Tank was talking to our girl. I don't even question Hector anymore. Either he really had ESP or he had super hearing. Either way, he knew these things. And that meant the call Ranger didn't take had to have been from her too. I almost went to punch him in the face. If she was calling us after this long, she had to be in serious trouble.

The door slammed open and Tank took off. He was totally oblivious to anything around him, focused on getting down the stairs as fast as he could. And he was doing something I had never heard before. He was pleading. She was walking into a bad situation and she wasn't going to wait. She was either calling to say goodbye, or she wanted him to monitor her somehow.

And that's when I remembered the watch. Ranger had given it to her months ago so she had a way to reach out to us if she didn't have any other way to signal she needed help.

Morelli's name in this conversation sent fear and fury through me like I've never felt before. I knew he was looking a little rough lately, but I didn't think he was drinking enough to make him a danger to her. She had bowed to her mother's pressure, as far as I could tell, and gotten back together with him about three months ago. I started inventing Spanish curses to keep from flying off the handle then and there. I could hear Hector doing the same, and making fun of some of the things I was saying. He was taunting me to get me focused on the rage and away from the fear. And it was working.

The phone clicked shut and we picked up the pace, nearly flying into the nearest SUV. Tank was driving like a maniac towards the Burg.

Hector's phone rang and he put it on speaker to answer it.

"_¿Qué?__"_

And then we heard her sweet voice and a drunken Morelli.

Fuck.

"_No, Cupcake, you listen. I'm done with you running around making a fool of me. You've been such a good girl since you stopped seeing Manoso, but it's time to give up the job and get this all settled."_

"_Settled. Yes, it's time we settled a few things. I'm not interested in having children, getting married or moving into the Burg. You and I have a lot of history and I'd like to be your friend, but I can't be in this relationship anymore."_

There was a loud thud and she cried out. I was gripping the seatbelt so hard I was afraid it would snap. Tank was white-knuckling the steering wheel. I couldn't see Hector in the back. If I moved right now, I would lash out and it wouldn't be pretty, but I could feel the rage almost rolling out of him.

"_No one wants you, whore. You'll do what you were raised to do, have my babies, keep my home, service my dick, and you're not leaving this house until I've gotten that through your brainless skull. Ranger's not going to rescue you this time. He can't. I've made sure he'll be busy tonight. His band of thugs is going to get arrested right along with him. His Jersey Penal Stop-Over Station is going to get shut down."_

He was laughing but the joke was on him. I knew we were clean. I had done a thorough walk-through this morning, just like every other morning since we were tipped off that some pissed off cops and Feds were gunning for us.

"_Joe, I'm leaving town."_

I knew if she wanted to, she could disappear. Hector and I taught her all the tricks we knew and even introduced her to a few decent forgers. Fuck. We had to stop this.

"_You're not going anywhere, Cupcake."_

There was still laughter and now a smug asshole-ness in his voice. I could feel the smirk spread across my face. I couldn't wait to get my fists on him.

"_I'm leaving and you're going to let me. Or I'm going to allow certain documents, videos, audio recordings and pictures to be released to certain individuals."_

Her voice had gone so icy, I felt my balls retreat a little. I never expected to hear anything like that from her. She was sweet and innocent and resilient and tender. And it made me wonder just how much she knew about us if she had blackmail on him that was good enough for that threat. I desperately wanted to know what she had on him. It had to be good. Maybe he was as dirty as we had heard and she had the proof.

There was another, louder thud and then Morelli started laughing. It was a sick sound that made me want to puke and shoot him at the same time. That would actually be interesting. Maybe I could get some ipecac when we get her home and see if I could actually do that. It might come in handy.

He was moving around, there was more thudding, she was groaning in pain, and then he began to talk.

"_You're not going anywhere, Cupcake. I'm never letting you leave here and I'll take away all your toys so you won't get rescued. Then I'll find what you've done with what you have and destroy it. You'll be mine forever."_

The sick laughter sounded again.

"_While I have you just as I like you, I'll get started on teaching you how to please me."_

All three of us were breathing hard, barely holding in the beasts we hid inside our human shells. He had pushed this over the line.

I could feel the monster in me, the one I never wanted Steph to find out about, pushing against my skin, begging to be let loose to rip this piece of nothing to shreds with our blades. I started fingering the steel. I could see a glint reflecting against the windshield. Hector was going to help me carve him up. We'd let Tank tenderize him before we put that carcass to good use.

I wanted to see how many times I could slice into him before he bled out. I hadn't done or even thought of anything like this in a few years. Maybe I was rusty and should start with little tiny slices on the torso, just to get a feel for the blade breaking through skin again.

Something crashed to the ground next to Steph and she grunted with effort. We could hear her moving and breathing hard. It sounded like she was trying to get out of there.

"_You're not going anywhere, whore. I own you. I paid for you."_

Morelli was still drunk but he was slurring more. That meant she hit him over the head with something. Shame he didn't pass out. He would have loved our wake-up call.

The sound of clothing tearing came through. She let out a little scream of surprise and pain as she fell and I would guess she landed on broken glass of some sort, judging by the crashing sound from a few seconds ago.

"_If you won't listen to me and be a good whore, I'll teach you to obey."_

Our SUV screeched to a halt behind hers in front of his house on Slater Street. We were out the doors before the engine had time to shut off.

We were going to kill him. I was going to let the monster out, in front of Steph, and deal with her fear afterwards. If she could never look at me again, it would be worth it. I had a feeling this wasn't the first time he had done this to her.

Our boots hit the porch just as she let out a scream that sounded more like fury than fear or pain.

Tank's size fifteen boot kicked the door in and we rushed into the living room.

She was straddling his waist, a huge piece of glass falling from her left hand onto the carpet, her right hand digging into the hole just below his rib cage almost up to her elbow, her shirt in tatters, her hair wild. And she was fucking beautiful. She pulled a knife out of her boot and pushed it up into the hole in his chest. I knew what she was doing. The monster inside of me and the man agreed. She was fucking beautiful. She wasn't our little kitten anymore. She's our panther. And she'd rip our hearts out if she had to.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – I apologize for the delay. Life has been complicated. Hector has been yelling at me for a while, we just had to sort his thoughts out so they make sense to you. I think this is the fifth version of this chapter I wrote and he's finally shut up. All of the characters are going to be darker and I know where I want this to go, I just haven't gotten the full picture yet. I'm also working on a couple of other pieces, ****but I am not abandoning this****. It takes a lot for me to let these walls down and I want to do it right, so please stay with me. Right now, I doubt I will be giving Steph's POV, I tried, and it was awful, she fought me the entire time. I have six Rangemen who want to be heard and I'm letting them out of the box. **

_Hector POV_

A year ago, Stephanie Plum asked for my help. She asked me to teach her to survive like I had. She asked me to teach her about electronics and aliases and knives. She asked me to teach her about forensics and death. She told me she knew death and pain and war were coming and she needed to be ready. And I couldn't tell anyone.

I thought she was joking.

I laughed in her face.

She decked me, kneed me in the balls, stunned me and tied me to a chair.

If anyone else had done that, they would be dead right now. I cut _la gatita_ a lot of slack. She also knows that I speak perfect English, I just use the guise of only speaking Spanish for intelligence gathering. I never told her that, she figured it out by watching my eyes.

She also had some pretty impressive information tucked away. She had only been gathering it for a short while but it would turn our world upside-down.

I sat and listened as she explained what she knew and how she knew it. Turns out, she speaks fluent Italian, has since she was a little girl. And the only people who knew that were her father and me.

She had taken her recordings to him and had him confirm what she was hearing. She didn't want to believe it, wanted to hide her head in the sand, but she pulled herself up and began to plan a counter offensive. It changed everything for the two of them. He gave her information about his military career that she wouldn't disclose to me and then he started her training. From what she said, I figured he was teaching her the mental aspects of covert ops and hand-to-hand combat. She was learning to shield her emotions from the world and from herself. And she was learning fast.

She told me that I could stand beside her, or I could die. It was my choice. And I believed her.

I took her through everything I knew. I trained her to hack and program. I trained her to collect evidence and what the police look for at the scene of a crime. I introduced her to some of my contacts, some of the best forgers and hackers in the country. I taught her disguise and defensive driving. I taught her every damn thing I could think of that she might need if she didn't have us at her side.

And then I brought out the blades.

She was quite talented and graceful with the blades. I taught her kill zones, damage zones and defensive moves against a blade attack. Her hand-to-hand skills were showing, but she was a natural.

Then she asked me to teach her torture. I almost walked away from her but the look in her eyes stopped me. There was a monster in there. And I didn't create it. I had just never recognized it.

I taught her how to fillet a man, how to remove body parts without the target bleeding out, how to decimate a target, how to degrade a target, how to de-humanize a target and how to dig the heart out slowly and painfully.

And for the first time since I was a child, I prayed. I prayed that she would never have to take a life. And I prayed that she would never use any of the things I taught her monster. I had helped strip away her innocence and I hated myself for it. But I knew as the months passed, I could just feel that she would need this. I hated myself, but my instincts screamed at me to take this monster that had so long been caged and teach her how to be everything she would need to be.

I watched as she interacted with the people around her. If I didn't know about the training, I would never suspect it was happening. Her father was teaching her deception very well. I knew that Ranger had wanted to start something serious with her about seven or eight months ago and I watched closely. She seemed to be feeling all the right things, but even I couldn't tell if it was a lie or not.

We had talked about how she wanted to handle her personal relationships. She refused to let me in on the plans she was moving into place, but she did tell me I would know when the war began. She said I had to be above reproach and my reactions had to be genuine. She told me that while she's in love with 'certain people', she can't let that get in the way of the upcoming battles and she would back away if things got too complicated.

So having her call Tank today told me Rangeman was about to join the fight. I knew which side I was on, and I would walk away from my brothers here if I had to for her, but I didn't think that would be the case. I knew she'd been setting up her moves for the last six months, keeping Rangeman above reproach for as long as possible. I knew she'd bring us in when the timing was right. I also knew that human trafficking was involved and I wanted it stopped.

Morelli was target one. I knew she'd gotten all she could when she told Tank that's where she was. Listening to her act through that scene, not being able to reassure the guys that she would be alright because she was so well trained, I seethed.

I really have wanted to kill Morelli for a while now. But she said he was a pawn she needed to control. That was our last conversation about three months after she cut the rest of the guys off. She had me keeping her informed of the cases we were taking on. I'm not sure why and I'm not sure why she stopped needing that information, but she told me I would know.

And I know now is the time.

Following Tank and Lester through the front door, I wanted to vomit and kiss her at the same time. She was ripping his heart out of his chest. And she was smiling and whispering that he would never hurt anyone again.

She turned and made eye contact with me, completely ignoring Tank and Lester.

"_Hector_," she grinned, "_it's on_."

And with that she was up and moving for the door.

"_I need to get off the grid so the cops don't realize they can't hold me for this. I'll get in touch with you._"

All of that was addressed at me. In perfect Italian. I learned, just like she learned Spanish.

When Tank tried to move into her path, she just stared at him, monster peeking through.

"I'll call you too, Big Guy."

And she was gone, sirens closing in from the distance.

I stood there in silence with the other two, not really knowing what to say and hoping I wouldn't have to fight with them before we got back to Haywood. I still had a tracker on her and I would use it if I had to, but I didn't want to betray her trust.

"What do we do about the cops?" Lester asked. "I heard her say something about them but I don't speak Italian."

"We tell truth," I said. I kept my English broken and heavily accented. I know Ranger and Tank had figured out it was a ruse, but they let me keep it.

They both turned to stare at me. Their blank masks were completely gone and they looked incredulous.

"She untouchable. Trust her."

They both relaxed at the second phrase and nodded. Ranger would be pissed, but I knew she had worked hard for the privileges that she had and I had a limited understanding that everything she would do would be swept under the rug by several very important people who were hurt by this war that was about to break out on the streets.

She was a central player, key witness, lead investigator, chief tactician, undercover operative, and personally motivated. They were trusting her and she was doing whatever was necessary. She had a few other people from the outside working for her, but she was the puppet master of the powers that be and the enemy. And doing a fine job from what I could guess, since the first puppet's strings were just severed.

Another Explorer squealed onto the scene. Ranger, Bobby and Cal jumped out and stared at the taillights of her SUV as it sped away.

"Bobby. Cal. Tail her," he ordered

"_There's no point, Ranger. She'll lose them. She's had the training. I've got her tracked,_" I said. I was hoping to sooth him a little but he was staring at me like he wanted to kill me.

Fuck. I hadn't meant to tell them all that I had a tracker on her. Now he'll demand we use it and I'll have to slice him open when I refuse. Some days I hate how driven by testosterone these men are.

I looked over at Lester and he nodded. He would help me protect her. He had just seen her elbow-deep in Morelli's chest. Sometimes I loved Lester a little too much for my own good. Now was definitely one of those times. He was confused and turned on and a little terrified of her. He was adorable.

Tank just looked halfway between confused and furious. I'm pretty sure he had seen her monster rattling her cage a little and was pissed about her loss of innocence. If only he knew.

Ranger made it to the porch with Cal and Bobby and they were all looking around us into the living room when the blue and whites started rolling up. It looked like the entire police force.

My phone rang, "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. It was a little feminine for me, but it suited _la gatita_ so very well.

I put it to my ear while the five other men in black glared at me.

"_Chica,_" I said.

"_Speaker please,_" she said.

I pulled the phone back and hit the button. Her voice came out in perfect Spanish, perfectly emotionless.

"_Hector has a tracker on me. He may activate it once you have all been cleared from the scene and are able to slip the surveillance that's been on you the last three months. It's just the DEA and ICE. Two men on each of you, four on Manoso. Tell the cops the truth as you saw and heard it this afternoon. Meeting me is risking everything. Make that choice before you go to Hector once the police release you. Death is highly likely. But survival, makes you untouchable. Your choices. Your instincts. Call me before you leave the grid to let me know ETA and troop status, Hec._" She took a deep breath and then said the words that sent us all to her side later that night. "_No matter what, I love you all._"

She was safe for now, we would follow her lead. Every man met my eyes and Ranger's eyes. We were hers. Our monsters told us that her fight was ours. Our instincts told us to protect her. We were all hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all for the continued support! Now please enjoy the hell Bobby has put me through! **

_Bobby POV_

Hector pulled the phone back from his ear and hit a button. Bomber's voice came out in perfect Spanish, perfectly emotionless. I stood perfectly still in shock.

"_Hector has a tracker on me. He may activate it once you have all been cleared from the scene and are able to slip the surveillance that's been on you the last three months. It's just the DEA and ICE. Two men on each of you, four on Manoso. Tell the cops the truth as you saw and heard it this afternoon. Meeting me is risking everything. Make that choice before you go to Hector once the police release you. Death is highly likely. But survival, makes you untouchable. Your choices. Your instincts. Call me before you leave the grid to let me know ETA and troop status, Hec._" She took a deep breath and then said the words that sent us all to her side later that night. "_No matter what, I love you all._"

My eyes met Ranger's and then Hector's. I knew I would be going. She was family.

We stood in a silent circle, Hector's phone still held out in the middle. We were all in unspoken agreement. Whatever had happened and wherever this was taking us, we were hers.

The peace was broken by a stampede of cops pouring out of their blue and whites and racing up to the house. As one, we moved away from the door to gather in front of the picture window that looked out onto the porch. I turned and looked through the window into the living room, getting my first unobstructed view of the destruction.

There was glass all over the floor, picture frames and knick-knacks and lamps all lay broken. The coffee table was in two pieces. It's clear the chair and the couch were shoved out of the way.

In the center of the broken mess lay the body of Joseph Morelli. His chest was covered in deep red, blood having soaked through his shirt and pooling underneath him. His shirt was shoved up under his arms, a giant sucking chest wound just under his ribs. There were also two cuts on his face, giving him a permanent smile. I don't think anyone had really noticed that yet. The sucking chest wound was distracting.

The uniform cops who were exiting the house were all green around the gills. I could see them shooting us dark looks, like we were the ones who killed him. I will admit that every Rangeman has wanted to kill him at one point or another, but none of us had actually done it.

Eddie Gazzarra walked over and stood in front of Ranger. He gave us all an assessing look, before focusing back on our leader. "We need to separate you and take your statements." He looked a little scared, but determined. But he didn't look sick or sad. "I'll take Ranger and Tank. Robin will take Cal and Lester. Carl will take Bobby. Marty will take Hector, he speaks Spanish."

With that, he turned and walked down to the sidewalk, Tank and Ranger following. Robin led Lester and Cal down into the yard. Marty took Hector about three feet from me and began asking questions. Carl just looked at me. He didn't look sick or sad either.

"Start from the top."

I told him about the meeting at Rangeman, Tank's mysterious call, the audio bug playing the abuse for the control room to hear, and speeding here when we though the useless cop would rape Bomber.

"When was the last time you talked to Steph?" he asked. He was genuinely curious and that sent up a red flag. He hadn't talked to her recently. Although that makes sense; he was one of the ringleaders with the betting.

"Been a few months." I wasn't getting any more specific than that. It wasn't relevant to this specific case.

"Has she been training at Rangeman?"

"No." I was not voicing my suspicions that she had been training with a specific ass-hat Rangeman who pretended to only speak Spanish behind our backs. He asked where, he didn't ask with whom.

"You're a medic, right?"

I nodded. I wasn't giving anything away.

"You seen the body?"

"Through the window."

"How much blood would be on the person who did that?"

"They'd be covered in it. Looks like arteries were severed and they'd have to be in extremely close quarters."

"So it was none of you, because you're all clean?"

"Carl, if one of us had done that, he'd be messier."

"Have you talked to Steph since she left the scene?"

"No." Truth. I didn't do any talking.

"You're good to go, come down to the station at some point in the next few days to sign your statement. Call me if you think of anything else."

I shook his hand and joined Cal and Tank at one of our Explorers. I watched as Ranger shook hands with Eddie and joined us. Lester and Hector kept exchanging glances.

Lester was so busy eye-fucking Hector, I don't think he even noticed Robin. Unusual. He usually flirts with anything female.

Hector was carefully reigning in his anger and his lust for Les and not a small amount of pride. He was speaking slowly and getting frustrated with Marty. Marty had his hands close to his cuffs. The tattoos made him nervous and there are a few unsolved homicides matching this one in Newark, New York, Philly and Baltimore in the last six months. There are also two unsolved cases from six years ago that match this one. Marty is a neutral party, no declared loyalties to Morelli or Rangeman or Steph, but he's been a cop too long to just trust the word of a non-English speaker with banger tats.

We had been working on those unsolved homicides as a favor to a friend at the Baltimore PD. When we turned back a profile, the FBI contracted us to help with the case. We've gotten nowhere. And now that I think I know who's been responsible for them, I can see why. She's too damn smart, always has been. And we didn't even consider a female suspect. All the victims had been at least six feet tall and muscular. We didn't think a female could overpower them. There was no evidence of drugs or sexual activity, so we ruled the ladies out. Now I know better.

The truth is, now that I know she did this to Morelli and have connected it in my brain to the other cases, I'm a little frightened of Bomber. I know I'll be going with the guys tonight. I know I'd follow her into hell, but I don't think I'll be able to turn my back on her until I know what exactly has been going on.

Lester shook hands with Robin and started walking our way. Hector stiffened and backed up a step, as if he'd been slapped. Even though Lester's back was to him, Les stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head. Robin dodged out of the way just in time for Lester to stride past her and take up a stance behind Hector.

Everyone standing in the immediate area heard what he said next.

"Leave Hector alone. He was with me and Tank when that dirty cop was killed. He told you what he knows. Back the hell off. He's not a banger, Gobel."

"How do I know any of you are telling the truth?" Marty shot back.

"You don't." With that, he used a hand on Hector's shoulder to steer him away from the uniform and back to us. "Let's move before I lose my temper."

Hector had a smile on his face I'd never seen before. It was actually really scary. He looked a little like Bomber did when we used to show up at her scenes.

With a nod from Ranger, we loaded into the vehicles we came in and peeled out of there.

I was sitting next to Ranger. Cal was in the back. I thought we were going to have a silent ride back, time to sort this out in our heads. But Ranger has been acting odd for the last half a year. I should have known he would want to talk.

"Those other cases." His voice was quiet, but I knew he was asking if anyone else had made the connection. I didn't know he had gotten that good of a look at the body.

"Yeah," Cal said. He was just as quiet. "Could be she copy-catted."

"No," I said. "The wound placement wasn't leaked to the public."

We sat in silence for a minute. Ranger broke it again.

"Hector."

That's all he needed to say. Hector had been a shit for not talking to us about Steph.

"He trained her," I offered.

"Not all of that was him. There's someone else," Cal said.

We resumed the quiet for a minute.

"She's not Steph anymore." Ranger sounded heartbroken.

"She never was what she appeared to be, Ranger. You have to know that." Cal was now asking for an ass-kicking. He was implying that she was either hiding something from all of us; or she had been lying to us from the very beginning.

"Cal," I warned. I could feel the tension start to leak out of Ranger.

"I meant," he plowed on, "that she didn't know it was there. I've seen it, we've all seen it. She's still Steph, she's just more now. She's working a plan and we need to leave the emotions at the door, just like any other case. Hector trusts that she's not drowning. I trust Hector."

I saw Ranger nod out of the corner of my eye as we pulled back into Haywood.

We moved up to the fifth floor, using the conference room off Ranger's office. We asked Ram, Junior and Manny to join us.

"First order of business," Tank began. We all stared at him for a beat, confused that he would take the lead like that when Ranger was sitting next to him. "How did we not know the core team was being tailed by DEA and ICE?"

"_It's part of the raid. Standard surveillance hoping we'll slip up._"

"You knew?" Lester asked. He was starting to look less lustful and more pissed.

"Suspicions," was all Hector would say.

"Decoy or disable?" Cal asked.

"Disable. Ram and Manny." Ranger's first contribution. Hopefully he'd be able to focus on this after the mess his head has been in since hearing her fight with Morelli. Bomber's always been able to screw his concentration.

"What do you know, Hec?" Lester asked.

"She tell. You trust her. She know you angry. I know you angry. We protect Rangeman this way. Human traffickers. "

We all sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating that. Why she didn't come to us, I planned to find out. Human traffickers are nasty people to mess with and she's just the kind they like to grab if they're selling women.

"Tank, brief everyone. We leave at 2300. Pack light, but for a week at least." With that, Ranger stalked from the office.

Tank went through everything we knew again and Hector threw in the bit about Bomber having all sorts of video and audio in Italian to back what's happening. He wasn't clear on the chain of command and how this was playing out legally, but he was clear that she's been prepping for this for over a year and now it's time to bring us in.

We all set out to pack up, making sure Hal and Erik were set to run 12 hour shifts for the next week. Ram and Manny set a plan in place to disable our tails. Junior worked with Hector to get the tech we would need. The last thing we did while waiting for Ranger in the garage was disable any trackers on our persons and the vehicles we were taking.

Ranger came striding out of the stairwell, his usual calm and collected self, at least on the surface. We could all see he was a mass of nervous energy beneath that. She had called him Manoso on the phone, and that did not escape our notice.

"You've made the decision to move forward, of your own free will. Thank you. Protect our Bombshell. Aide her operation. You are all curious. You will be fully briefed on-site. Chain of command stands. She is your CO for the duration of this operation. Move out."

We moved, more than a little confused as to where that had come from. We trusted Ranger. He was the type of leader to be first in and last out. And he'd earned the right for his word to be taken as law.

The satisfied smirk on Hector's face was freaking me out. Mostly because he'd been wearing it all damn day. He needed to stop looking at Lester that way. Scary. I needed a little distance from them. Les seemed to know more than he was letting on too; he was wearing the same damn smirk. Those two needed to be separated. They're too devious for their own good.

I was feeling pretty good about trusting my brothers, Bomber and the direction this all seemed to be heading, Hector and Lester's obvious conspiracy aside, but my instincts have led me wrong before where women are concerned. Caution is my primary concern here. She's my sister, but I haven't seen or spoken to her in half a year. That time can change a lot of things. Living like she has, isolated, could change her. Living with the knowledge, the darkness this operation is exposing her to, makes her dangerous and unpredictable.

Steph is an undeniable force of nature. If she had learned to harness any of that, I have a right to be a little terrified. I would trust her for now, because everyone else did. But my gut said not to give her my back. I'm covered in scars, but the skin on my back is flawless, because you don't get scarred if you leave that unprotected, you just get dead.


End file.
